The last sunrise of winter

 

                                                The last sunrise of winter. Tomorrow is the first day of Spring.

85mm f/1.4 AF Nikkor. 1/200 second at f/5. Matrix metering. + 0.7 EV compensation. ISO 100

© 2021

Yellow plastic bucket

Another cloudless day is forecast for the south coast, and I set off to the beach well before dawn to see if there's anything worthwhile to point my camera at. I'm carrying two lenses: a wide zoom and a fisheye prime. No cloud at all means I'm going to have to work harder to get anything interesting as a seascape, and an extreme focal length such as the fisheye can sometimes get me out of a hole when inspiration is not immediately forthcoming

The plastic bucket was photographed as found, left behind, no doubt, from activities the day before. It caught my eye from a distance and I swiftly decide it will make a better theme than yet another sunrise shot. I get in low and close, and shoot with a wide(ish) aperture. Unfortunately, I overcooked the use of the filter on the sky, and it impinged on my subject.  

Never mind.

12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/80 second at f/5. Matrix metering. + 1 stop EV compensation. 0.9 Lee reverse grad. ISO 160

© 2021

Beyond reality

Overnight the cloud has broken, and much of the UK is enjoying clear blue skies. It's pleasantly warm in the sunshine, and a far cry from the sub-zero temperatures I had to deal with only a couple of weeks ago. There are reports that parts of the country may reach 17ºC over the weekend. Ridiculous.

The high pressure weather system is forecast to last several days, so I resume my architecture project around town, but this time opting to leave any colour in the image. Deliberate underexposure to tame the reflections off of the walls of the building has saturated the sky well beyond reality, and no filters while shooting - or in post processing - have been used to create the effect.

24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. 1/2000 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 1 stop EV compensation. ISO 100

© 2021

University challenge

Today's photo project - local architecture - ideally needed direct sunlight to give me the effect I had in mind, but that mental picture evaporated by early afternoon as high cloud rolled in from the south.

Not to be deterred by the diffused light I now had to work with, I set off to photograph the town's university buildings that have sprung up in the past couple of years. My intention from the outset was to produce graphic black and white images: a treatment that I prefer for such subjects.

 

24-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor. Matrix metering. ISO 100

Top: 1/640 second at f/5.6. Bottom: 1/800 second at f/5.6

Mono conversion in Capture One Pro

© 2021

Blow the wind southerly

The east winds that let us all know that we are still in the depths of winter have moved round to the south, and the temperature has soared to a balmy 11ºC. Signs of Spring are appearing here and there, but for the moment the sky remains overcast.

I'm already thinking in terms of black & white images long before the camera comes out on a walk along the beach this afternoon. I have a 3 stop ND grad on the lens to help boost what is an insipid sky, but the real drama came in post processing.

   

12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/250 second at f/8. Matrix metering. + 0.3 EV compensation. 0.9 Lee ND grad. Mono conversion in Capture Pro One. ISO 200

© 2021

All to myself

It's another day with temperatures barely above freezing, and to make matters worse the easterly wind is back. Gusting up to 35mph, the chill factor makes it feel more like -5ºC. Mind you, I do have the beach to myself because of it.

 

12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/125 second at f/8. Matrix metering. +0.7 EV compensation. 0.9 Lee ND grad. ISO 200

©2021

Come together

The cutting easterly winds of the past couple of days have dropped, and it feels nowhere near as cold. However, the air temperature still hovers at 0ºC. Thick loud has been present for most of the day, but I still decide to go for an afternoon beach walk as there are spring tides this week and I may get something useable.

As luck would have it, low tide and a welcome break in the clouds come together at the right moment on Bournemouth beach, and I get some pictures.

 
12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/100 second at f/8. Matrix metering. +1 stop EV compensation. 0.9 Lee ND grad. ISO 100

© 2021

Believable

I awoke this morning to a dusting of snow. Barely enough to leave footprints in, but snow all the same. The entire UK is currently in the grip of a cold snap, and the biting easterly winds are letting us know all about it.

It's early afternoon when the cloud cover breaks, and once it does I'm off to the beach for some photography. The Met Office weatherman says that outside temperatures - with the windchill factored in - will feel like -6ºC... and I believe him.

12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/200 second at f/8. Matrix metering. 0.9 Lee ND grad. ISO 100

© 2021 

Creeping up again

Although the number of images I've produced show otherwise, it feels to me that I haven't had much in the way of light during the winter months.,

It's early February, and that sun is getting alarmingly high in the sky again.
 

12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/000 second at f/8. Matrix metering. - 0.3EV compensation. 0.9 Lee ND grad. ISO 100

© 2021

Winter light (for DCB)

                                                                                                 Winter light.

12-24mm f/4 AF-S Nikkor. 1/400 second at f/8. Matrix metering. 0.9 Lee ND grad. Mono conversion and tinted in Capture One Pro. ISO 100 

© 2021

Looking out

February starts as a typical winter's day: heavily overcast and cold, but even so I head straight for the beach. There's no wind to speak of, but the large waves rolling in is something of a surprise. This is caused (I'm told), by the recent north westerly winds that back up the sea into the English Channel, and now that they've relented the water can push back.

And push back it does bringing the surfing community out in force, and with some justification. I'm not carrying a long lens to convincingly catch any of the action, so instead I look for the bigger picture.

 

85mm f/1.4 AF Nikkor. 1/1250 second at f/2.2. Matrix metering. + 0.7 EV compensation. Mono conversion in Capture One Pro. ISO 250 

© 2021